Four Essential Tips for Choosing the Right Home for Your Family

Four Essential Tips for Choosing the Right Home for Your Family

  • Monica Blanco
  • 08/22/22

Whether you’re moving to a new house in town or transitioning to a home across the country, it’s important to choose a home that will be the best fit for you. Finding the right house can mean something different to every buyer, but there are a few things everyone should consider as they search for their next residence.

Parents know how crucial it is for their kids to be in the best environment to foster their growth, starting with the home they’re raised in. This guide is a round-up of four important tips you shouldn’t forget when buying a home for your family.

1. Consider the location

Photo courtesy of Unsplash

In real estate, the location of a home is even more important than the home’s features. This is especially true when you’re raising a family. Think about what kind of neighborhood you’d like your kids to grow up in. If the area you’re looking at isn’t quite up to par, that “perfect house” won’t be so perfect. When choosing the right location for your future home, take into account your daily lives. Will you be driving children to school? Which schools? How far are they from your potential home? Some buyers like to test the drive to and from school during peak traffic hours to decide whether that’s something they’d like to deal with twice a day, five days a week.

A few other things to take into account while you’re determining the right location for your family include the location of your job, local amenities, and the distance to the shops and restaurants you frequent. Pay special attention to the features of your potential new neighborhood. It’s a good idea to know whether the home is part of a homeowners association, or HOA. An HOA typically ensures the curb appeal of your home and requires fees, known as HOA dues, which go toward maintaining and improving the neighborhood. While some people may prefer an HOA, it can inconvenience others. Kids’ playsets, yard toys, and trampolines may be against the HOA code, so do your research beforehand to ensure you’re not placing unnecessary limits on yourself or your children. Inconveniences to your daily life shouldn’t go ignored, either. Look at a map of the area and determine your proximity to major highways, airports, railroad lines, and other things that may interrupt your quiet and privacy. . You can learn more about homeowners associations here.

2. Think about your wants and needs in a home

Photo courtesy of Pexels

There’s a vast array of floor plans, styles, and home design. While it’s easy to get caught up in choosing what you want your home to look like, it’s better to focus first on how you’d like your home to function. Any parent needs to take into account that their kids will be living in the home too. Pristine white carpets are beautiful — until you have two kids spilling their food and drinks all over. Wood, tile, or laminate may be a friendlier alternative.

It may seem obvious, but your day-to-day lifestyle is going to reset to a new routine when you move into your new home, and contemplating what that may look like will do wonders. For example, are you the parent of a newborn? How far would their nursery be from your bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room? Will their nap time be disturbed by a toilet flushing or a timer going off? These minor parts of life are often overlooked in favor of eye-catching features, so make sure to keep them in mind as you progress in your home search.

Another thing to keep in mind is how much maintenance you’re wanting to do on the property each month, season, or year. Again, white carpets likely won’t hold up to kids, and they mean a lot of vacuuming. If there’s a pool in the backyard, it’ll need regular upkeep to stay in good working order. But those two things aren’t the only features that require regular maintenance, and keeping a schedule or hiring a housekeeper to manage the work is the best way to compromise on the amount of time and energy you spend on keeping up your home rather than living in it.

3. Ensure there’s adequate space

Photo courtesy of Unsplash

For growing families, the need for a new home often equates to the need for more space. Whether this is storage, square footage, or the size of the yard, it’s a great idea to make sure there’s enough space for your family. When you’re walking through potential homes, try to imagine where you might store your possessions and then see how much space would be left. Empty rooms can make a buyer feel as if a room or space is bigger than it really is. But once you account for your furniture, decor, and necessities, there’s likely less room than you think there is.

When you’re searching for a home that will suit your family and their future, it’s a good practice to brainstorm any possible changes that might come to your family in the future. Do you want to have more kids? Will you be getting a pet that requires extra space outside? These are examples of changes that would alter the amount of space you’ll need in your future home.

4. Don’t skip the home inspection

Photo courtesy of Pexels

Even if you think you’ve found your dream home, it’s crucial to have the home inspected before you make the purchase. A home inspector will examine the features of the house to determine whether they’re in good working order. They’ll look at the foundation, the roof, the heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing, and electrical systems. They’ll give you an idea of the condition of the home and a list of the work that needs to be done. This list often includes non-urgent as well as more urgent fixes, so it’s a good idea to do a little research into which fixes are minor and which fixes you can postpone for now.

Beyond aesthetics, your home should be liveable. Let’s say you skip the inspection and buy the home. It’s likely that less than a month or so later, you’ll find every problem that existed before your purchase. If the plumbing lines are rusted out and need replacing or all the wiring in the house needs to be redone, the quality of life in your new home could be greatly affected. You’d be shelling out more cash to get these systems fixed. Have an inspector look at the home and take their report to the seller to see how you can negotiate to either have these problems fixed before purchase or determine a lower price point. The safety of your family is worth much more than a quick closing on a house.

Are you in the market to buy a home in metro Atlanta?

Your family deserves to find the right house to grow and flourish in for years to come.  Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find the perfect home when you’re battling other buyers for the same property or perhaps don’t even know where to start looking.  There’s a lot to learn about the home buying process, and you don’t want to spend unnecessary time, money, and energy.

An experienced real estate agent will not only cut down on these potential expenses but make the entire process simpler for you. Your agent is a constant ally you can contact for support and answers to any questions you may have throughout the process. Homeowners all around metro Atlanta have turned to high-touch agent Monica Blanco for their real estate needs. Monica has sold her fair share of Alpharetta homes and Milton real estate, and she has matched many homes for sale in Roswell with happy new owners. Reach out today to find out how she can help you find your next home.

*Header photo courtesy of Unsplash



Work With Monica

Moving up, moving down or moving out; I'm here to help with a unique and consultative approach. For guidance and insight on all things residential real estate, contact me today!